JSM wrote:Found it a little surprising Kobe's been mentoring him for 4 years and they were able to keep that on the down low.

Im not Kobe has mentioned many times he mentors guys around the league. It is just the sports media would have to want to give him any sort of credit to condsider it a story. Kobe being a villian sells and they milk it for all its worth. It also helps that Kobe is pretty dang private about his off time.

Watch this season will be different. Kobe will be the doting old Grandpa of the league. He'll be laughed at for his silly comments and he'll be asked a lot about what's next.

At some things. Definitely not at the charity stripe. And not in the post either.

Let's just say, he's a better fit for this team. I think the arguments can go round and round about who is the better center. Clearly, getting Dwight was the right thing for the Lakers. We can just stick with that.

At some things. Definitely not at the charity stripe. And not in the post either.

Let's just say, he's a better fit for this team. I think the arguments can go round and round about who is the better center. Clearly, getting Dwight was the right thing for the Lakers. We can just stick with that.

Bynum is definitely a better FT shooter, & has a more polished game offensively, but that doesn't necessarily make him the better post scorer or the most efficient of the 2 around the rim.

At some things. Definitely not at the charity stripe. And not in the post either.

Let's just say, he's a better fit for this team. I think the arguments can go round and round about who is the better center. Clearly, getting Dwight was the right thing for the Lakers. We can just stick with that.

Bynum is definitely a better FT shooter, & has a more polished game offensively, but that doesn't necessarily make him the better post scorer or the most efficient of the 2 around the rim.

I never said he was a more efficient player in the post. He's not. A lot of D12's points come there from put backs and any time he's within a couple feet of the basket it's basically a score. The guy is a beast.

But we're splitting hairs really. The fact is just because we don't have Bynum any more there's not really a need to blast on him in a comparison with D12. They've got different strengths and weaknesses.

You can even look back here at CL and read pages upon pages of debate about D12 vs. Bynum.

What matters now and what is clear is that Howard is a much better fit with this Lakers' team alongside Steve Nash. The way he plays is perfect for our personnel. He doesn't have to be "so much better than Bynum." And I'd argue that he isn't. But he is so much of a better fit. And for that I'm incredibly stoked to have him here.

Doc Brown wrote:Apparently D12 blocked CDR twice yesterday in practice. I saw another clip that was better then the one above. CDR went up for a two handed slam and D12 met him at the rim and swatted it.

Yeah that one had me far more excited than the other block. It showed better timing.

He still doesn't look necessarily as confident or explosive, but I think he's getting really, really close.

Ramona Shelburne wrote:Tuesday we learned that Kobe Bryant thought Dwight Howard was mean enough, just not mean enough, enough of the time.

"Dwight, to be a three-time Defensive Player of the Year, you've got to have a little of that dog in you," Bryant said on Tuesday. "It's just a matter of him digging deep and just pulling it out. But it's already there. It's just a matter of him having it become habit."

But in yet another sign that Howard and Bryant are off to a pretty decent start in this budding relationship that pretty much has to work for the Los Angeles Lakers to make good on their potential, Howard seems as if he took Bryant's comments pretty well.

"I heard about what he said," Howard said. "People might take that the wrong way. He's not saying be a jerk or an a-hole to people, he's basically saying, 'On the court. He loves the way I play, but I can be more of one of those people.' "

The reason the question came up in the first place is pretty simple: Howard has become known for his sunny personality and sense of humor almost as much as his basketball ability. He's fun. Silly at times. Like on Wednesday night when he danced for the crowd at Citizens Business Bank Arena when the Korean pop hit "Gangnam Style" played over the loudspeaker.

Bryant compared Howard's personality to former Lakers great Magic Johnson, who was "extremely competitive, but he still played the game with a smile on his face."

Howard seemed to like that comparison.

"I think a lot of people get it confused," Howard said of his personality. "They think I don't take it serious because I'm smiling or things like that. When it's time to get it done, I go and get it."

Good Article. Ultimately, this is about a championship. Kobe's going to pull that whole dog out of Dwight and show him how to properly lead a team and be an example on & off the court. Dwight has the proper attitude. This is going to be a historic season...

I'm thinking Shaq was partially right in calling out Dwight for not being a back to the basket type player. Offensively, Dwight relies too much on his athleticism for put backs and the pick and roll.

God forbid, Nash goes down late in the year or *gulp* in the post season a la Malone in '04...then what? Dwight is going to be the face of this franchise and even though Kobe stood up for Dwight and refuted Shaq's critiques, a part of Kobe knew that Dwight needs to shoulder more of the responsibility offensively. Instead of relying on his athleticism to be more of a Euro pick & roll center as Shaq referred to him as, he needs to get dirty down low and make the opposing front court players pay. Defensively, Dwight has that demeanor, but offensively, the opposition really doesn't fear Dwight down there. Obviously Shaq had more weight on him and was a legit 7 footer compared to Dwight, but Dwight does have the strength to impose his will in the paint from time to time and the beauty of this team is that they don't have to go down low to Dwight everytime down the court....but when they do, he needs to really throw his weight around (of course when his back is ready and strong enough for it).

Hopefully some of the work Dwight gets with Cap can add to his offensive repertoire. One thing that was interesting from the NBA TV comments Shaq made, was that when prompted by Reggie if Dwight ever came to him to seek advice on how to play big and gully down low, Shaq said he would be open to teaching Dwight some of his tricks. But then again, I doubt that scenario will ever pan out and its unfortunate that ego is the sole reason behind it.

All in all, Kobe seems to be grooming Dwight for the takeover and if Dwight is ready to critique his game and commit to improving upon it, the franchise will be in great hands!